Entrepreneurship

By Avigail Kohn and Roberto Formicone In collaboration with Child & Youth Finance International Since 2010, the rise of Financial Technology (otherwise known as Fintech) has irrevocably changed the landscape of finance. The term Fintech is used to describe the industry of companies who use technology (primarily internet and mobile phones) to make financial systems and […]

The ‘BigBelly’ solar powered rubbish bins installed in different locations across Sydney’s Waverly Council, including at Bondi Beach, have already proved a financial success. The project recently won the Government category of the Australian IoT Awards 2017. The bins make use of solar energy to power the compaction of rubbish as well as to communicate […]

Internet search platform Ecosia has set itself the ambitious goal of funding the planting of one billion trees around the world. It is an approach which is both innovative and unique and that, so far, has resulted in the planting of over 12.3 million trees, at a rate of one every two seconds, with over […]

Australian company SolarShare is pioneering a new financing and ownership model to help intensify the shift to a renewable energy economy. As a member-owned business, it “is for anyone who wants to be part of the shift to a renewable energy economy.” SolarShare’s vision “is for people to share a connection with their energy supply, […]

The Cape Town based consultancy, Impact Amplifier, has recently released a new research paper entitled ‘Energy Provision at the Base of the Pyramid: Are there viable business models to serve South Africa’s low-income communities?’ According to the description provided on its website the “Research paper reviews the decentralised energy business models being used in poor […]

Following the success of the first competitive auction held in July 2015 in Zambia, in which private organisations, known as Independent Power Producers (IPPs), were able to submit bids for the chance to develop, build and operate solar power plants across the country, a second auction was recently held. Like the first one, the second […]

If you’ve ever set foot on the African continent, then the idea of seeing dozens of corner shops, table shops, shops on wheels and even “walking shops” is not at all foreign to you. If you’ve spent some time there, then you know that most people and even yourself rely on these businesses on a […]

Don’t throw away your water bottles, eat them. A new start-up named Skipping Rocks Lab has recently launched a new singular product that is supposed to put an end on plastic water bottles usage: they are called Ooho Balls, an edible and biodegradable membrane full of water with the dimension of a little sphere that […]

The Brightest Young Minds (BYM) Board has recently selected and appointed members to its six newly created sub-committees. The selected members will serve on the sub-committees for Alumni Engagement, Communications, Finance & Legal, Projects: Thought Leadership & Innovation, Partnerships & Networks and Summit. Appointed on initial one year terms, they are expected to contribute to […]

South Africa’s Sustainability Institute Innovation Lab (SIIL) has developed the iShack Project in order to use solar energy and “Show how slums can be incrementally upgraded in a sustainable and socially just way.” Says David Hees, Solar Utility Manager at SIIL, “Urban informal settlements are growing rapidly in South Africa due to urbanisation and they […]